7th advertiser quits Limbaugh’s show

NEW YORK — A flower company is the seventh advertiser to pull its ads from conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s radio program in the wake of comments he made about a law student who testified about birth control policy.

Proflowers said Sunday on its Facebook page that it has suspended advertising on Limbaugh’s program because his comments about Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke “went beyond political discourse to a personal attack and do not reflect our values as a company.”

The six other advertisers that have pulled ads from his show are mortgage lender Quicken Loans, mattress retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, software maker Citrix Systems, online data backup service provider Carbonite and online legal document services company Legalzoom.

Limbaugh called the 30year- old Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” last week after she testified to congressional Democrats in support of national health care policies that would compel employers and other organizations, including her university, to offer group health insurance that covers birth control for women.

He apologized to Fluke on Saturday.

Clear Channel’s Premiere Radio Networks hosts Limbaugh’s program, one of the most popular in the nation. The company is supporting Limbaugh, whose on-air contract with Premiere runs through 2016.

“The contraception debate is one that sparks strong emotion and opinions on both sides of the issue,” Premiere Networks said in a statement Sunday. “We respect the right of Mr. Limbaugh, as well as the rights of those who disagree with him, to express those opinions.”